1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photoelectric conversion element for converting light to an electrical signal through plasmonics, and a photoelectric conversion element array using the photoelectric conversion element.
2. Description of Related Art
As for photoelectric conversion elements formed by use of the conventional photoelectric conversion technology, elements using semiconductor band gaps, such as a photodiode and a quantum infrared sensor, have been in the mainstream, but these elements cannot possess optical resolution exceeding optical diffraction limits. For example, in the case of applying a semiconductor photoelectric conversion element to a sensor, there has been occurred a problem of detection limits due to the optical diffraction limits. As opposed to this, there has been proposed a photoelectric conversion element that converts surface plasmons without the diffraction limits to a current (JP 08-264821, A).